discovery
by Natalie-C44
Summary: Lex/lana fic - a friendship forms between the pair but what will it lead to? chapter 4 now up, Lex's POV
1. a friendship forms

Lana swayed slowly to the music, her arms wrapped lightly around his neck, her head resting on his shoulder. She'd never felt so safe, yet so scared at the same moment. Who would ever have thought that she, Lana Lang, could have fallen for Lex Luthor – the dangerous, untouchable Lex Luthor. Or, and she desperately hoped she was right about this one; the way his hands gently held her hips as they danced, and the soft, soft kisses he was placing on her hair made her think that she was right; that Lex Luthor had fallen for Lana Lang?

……………………………………………

She remembered when he'd come crashing into the talon that night, the look on his face was unlike anything she'd seen before. To say it was angry didn't give it justice; it was far, far worse than that, it was indescribable. She remembered being terrified as he ordered a black coffee, and she remembered her hand shaking uncontrollably as she took it over to him. Yet, she remembered her desire to remain as far away from him as possible that night changing, as she caught a glimpse of sadness in his eyes as she turned to walk away.

She watched him out of the corner of her eye for the next hour or so as she worked. Not once in that hour did he move, his coffee remained untouched and his expression furious as he stared straight ahead. As the final few customers filtered out, she'd taken a deep breath, and walked over to him. A conflict of feelings rushing through her. She was nervous, after all Lex Luthor was a man most quivered in their boots at even when he was in a good mood, how he would act when he was angry was something Lana was unsure of. Yet, despite the sense of danger that surrounded him, she was also curious. Why was he so angry? What lay behind the image that was Lex Luthor? Would he open up to her?

He looked up at her as she sat down next to him, and in an instant, the expression on his face had disappeared, to be replaced with a blank canvas. Unreadable, unreachable, the only Lex Luthor she'd ever known had come back.

"Miss Lang" he'd said, "I don't recall asking for the pleasure of your company" he gazed at her, waiting for her response, those cool blue eyes of his boring through her. She bristled under his gaze, about to apologise for disturbing him, and to retreat away, leaving him alone to his thoughts, when she remembered the sadness she'd briefly caught in his eyes before. He might not have asked for her company, but deep down she sensed he was lonely, he had no true friends except for maybe Clark, and whether he wanted one or not, she decided she was going to help him gain another one tonight.

"You didn't request it Lex, but you just looked like you could do with a friend tonight"

He initially looked amused at this comment, then his gaze softened, "Maybe you're right Lana, maybe I do, but that doesn't mean you have to try and fill that role"

"I know I don't have to Lex, but I don't see anyone else queuing up, do you?" she instantly regretted this remark. Way to go Lana, rub his no friends status in his face why don't you. That's the way to help him forget what's bothering him.    

He didn't seem to take offence at her comment however, and instead just sighed "Well, its up to you Lana, but I don't think you'll find me the best company tonight" With this he sat back on the couch and stared straight ahead again, this time however, the look on his face seemed less brutal, just more disappointed than anything. Lana settled down next to him, watching him carefully, she had a feeling that just having someone sit with him would help in a small way. 

They remained like this for a while, Lana lost track of time, and could just remember being thankful that Aunt Nell was out of town, it was getting late, and the phone at the Talon would have been ringing furiously, Aunt Nell wanting to know why she wasn't home yet. The silence between them was only interrupted by the sound of Lex breathing, his short regular breaths let her know that whatever was wrong with him, he had calmed down, he had collected himself. 

After what seemed like an age later, he spoke, "My Mother died on this day, I was just a boy, but I remember it like it was yesterday" Lana looked at him, he was still gazing straight ahead, and she gently took his hand in his as he continued. It came out slowly at first, he told her how he felt as though a part of him had died that day, the human side, and how he feared that all that was left in him was his father.  Once he'd started talking, words poured at of his mouth almost quicker than he could speak them, it was as though he'd lost all control of what he was saying. He told her about the way his father had treated his Mother, how he'd never loved her, and how he'd punished Lex for grieving at her death. He talked and talked, not once looking at Lana, just staring straight ahead, and it was only when he got onto the events of today that he turned and looked at her. 

"Today is the anniversary of her death, and you know what he did?" she looked back at him, slowly shaking her head, and squeezing his hand gently. Lex looked away again "he chose to tell me today, that he's bought the cemetery she's buried on, that he's going to run it to the ground and build a factory. He's going to tear down his own wife's grave!"

Lana looked at Lex in shock, she knew how ruthless his father was, but that anybody could be that cruel, that heartless, shocked her to the core. She wanted to tell Lex how sorry she was, how he was better than his father and how he was never going to end up like that, but somehow she couldn't find the words. Instead, she did the only thing she could think of doing, forgetting that until tonight she'd barely known the guy, forgetting that he was Lex Luthor, forgetting that he was untouchable. She took him into her arms and she held him. 

…………………………………


	2. falling for him

Title: Discovery

Author: Natalie_C44

Rating: PG for now, might change as the story goes on

Summary: Lex/Lana fic, after the pair become friends they discover (_yes that's where the title comes from, and I know it sucks, but I didn't have the time to think of a more fitting one!)_ that maybe there's a lot more between them than just friendship.

Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own any of these characters, or places or whatever, they all belong to the WB or some other big money corporation

Authors note: okay just to let you know because I forgot to mention it in the first chapter, that I'm envisioning this to take place after Tempest, in the fall of that year. Oh, and Lana has split up with Whitney btw, just so you don't think she might be about to cheat on him – he's definitely out of the picture

Also, thank you all so much for the lovely feedback you gave me, it really helps to know someone likes what I've wrote, please let me know what you think of this chapter :) 

Chapter 2

Everything changed between her and Lex after that night. Although they never again talked about what Lex had told her, she could feel that there was some sort of unspoken bond between them, and Lana had a feeling that if Lex ever wanted to talk again he would come to her.

Before that night conversations between the pair had been few and far between. She'd always viewed him as her boss, or as Clark's friend, but now, and she felt confident in thinking this, he was her friend as well.

She remembered how she had been unable to stop smiling for days when she realised that. For all her supposed popularity, she'd never really had a true friend, someone who could see her for everything she was and yet still wanted to spend time with her, yet with Lex she felt as if she had gained this.

He would come into the talon most nights when she was working and they would talk as they closed up. They would have ordinary, normal conversations about anything and everything. Often making lengthy observations about those they knew; Clark and Chloe, and they burgeoning relationship being one of the main contenders. And they'd talk about pointless, trivial stuff like movies and television, not the sort of things she would have been expecting to discuss with Lex Luthor. However, despite the trivialness of some of their conversations Lana felt a kind of warm glow inside of her at the knowledge that she was probably the only person who knew that as a child, Lex had cried when his Mom took him to see the Lion King, or that despite his favourite film being the Godfather, he also had a secret fondness for the occasional dodgy teen movie.

It was strange, she thought to herself – in the past she'd always seen Lex Luthor as untouchable; a ruthless businessman determined to get what he wanted, whatever the cost. She'd been so stuck in believing this image she had of him, she'd never taken the time to realise that he was a real person, with real feelings and real emotions. Heck, she'd never even thought that Lex would have any feelings!

If anybody asked her, she probably wouldn't be able to pinpoint the exact moment that she realised she'd fallen for Lex. It may have been one night in the Talon when Lex hadn't popped in to see her. She remembered that as the night grew later she kept glancing at the door, hoping that at any moment she would see the familiar sight of him strolling confidently in, that smirk on his face that showed he knew every customer in the place was trying their best not to stare open-mouthed at him.  And she remembered how her stomach sank as she spent as long as she possibly could closing up, willing him to turn up, desperate to have just one small glimpse of him.  She remembered how; as she began to walk home that night; the sound of an engine roaring and skidding to a stop beside her made her stomach flip flop and her heart beat uncontrollably, and she'd turned round to see Lex behind the wheel, that famous half smile on his lips.  The sight of him made her feel like shouting out to the world _"he's come to see me! He hasn't forgotten about me! Lex Luthor has come to see Lana Lang!"_ Then she remembered the feeling she'd had in her stomach, the sheer horror when she realised just why she was so glad to see Lex, why his visits were the only thing she looked forward to each day. She had fallen head over heels for him, completely, utterly, totally. Lana Lang had fallen for Lex Luthor.         

                                                *********************

That night was probably the first time she'd admitted it to herself, yet sub-consciously she must have known how she felt about him for a long time. It was in the way he'd completely changed her outlook on life. Since getting to know Lex, she no longer viewed herself as having a pre-determined destiny, poor little Lana Lang, the girl who was born, lived and died in Smallville. Lex had challenged this view "We make our own destiny" he'd told her, and his belief that she could do whatever she wanted had given Lana the courage to finally believe in herself.  She could do great things with her life she'd realised, she just needed to believe in herself, believe in what Lex told her, believe in him.

Once she'd realised how she felt she couldn't believe she hadn't known earlier. Every time she was near him her stomach would fill with butterflies, and just the smallest look from him, with those cool blue eyes, would make her feel alive in a way she never had before. She could barely think of anything else but Lex, he ran through her mind all day, all night. She longed to tell him how she felt about him, but at the same time the thought terrified her. She had to keep reminding herself of who he was, who she was, and how someone like him, so rich and powerful would never be interested in a little girl like her. He was her friend, and she didn't want to risk everything they had between them by longing for something more.

Yet sometimes she found herself wondering, maybe he does feel something more, maybe, just maybe, he was thinking about her the way she thought about him, longing to kiss her, to hold her, to protect her. Maybe he too was scared of the implications about acting on his feelings, scared that she didn't want him the way he wanted her. She would quickly brush that thought away though, if Lex wanted her, she was sure she'd know by now, after all, he was Lex Luthor, he always got what he wanted, didn't he?


	3. in his arms

Authors note: Once again I just wanted to say thank you so much for the reviews, and please, please, let me know what you think of this part, it helps so much to keep going when you get feedback!  Oh, and just one thing, I was thinking about carrying on with the story, but from Lex's point of view, would you be interested in that or would you prefer me to just leave it here? please let me know 

Chapter 3

One Friday night a month or so later, Lana was again working in the Talon. This time however, instead of the busy, crowded atmosphere associated with the place on Friday nights it was almost empty. A couple of old ladies slowly drank their cups of coffee, but aside from this the place was deserted.  Everyone was at the Winter Formal, the Christmas dance being held at school, the sort of event where the Lana of last year would be living it up with Whitney, being crowned the queen, the princess or whatever stupid title they'd dreamed up. This time though, Lana hadn't wanted to go to the dance. No, wait that was a lie, she would have loved to have gone to the dance, but only if a certain someone had been accompanying her to it. 

She didn't feel bad about not being there, I mean a couple of guys had asked her, but she'd thought to herself, what was the point of going with anyone else but him, she would only have ruined her dates night by closing her eyes and imagining herself to be dancing with Lex, for his arms to be wrapped round her in an embrace, for her head to be resting slightly on his shoulder. Quite frankly, she could be working at the talon and imagining how it would feel to be with Lex, she didn't need to blow loads of money on a dress and to dance with some guy she had no interest in order to do it. 

She could have asked Lex to go with her, she thought to herself, but she couldn't really imagine Lex Luthor wanting to get down and jiggy with a bunch of high school kids. Plus she would have had to face that probing look he would get in his eyes sometimes, as if he was searching for a hidden meaning, he would want to know why Lana wanted him to go, and Lana really didn't think she was ready to tell him that just yet.

As if he could read her mind and knew that she was thinking about him, the doors of the Talon suddenly opened and in strolled Lex. Ignoring the now familiar feeling of butterflies in her stomach, she forced herself to smile at him, _god just this glimpse of him is worth missing the damn dance for_ she thought to herself.

Instead of smiling back however he looked at her questioningly, "Clark told me it's the Winter Formal tonight Lana, why aren't you there?" he moved towards her, his gaze never faltering, his eyes always questioning, and Lana gulped, his intense gaze making her nervous.

"Well, erm, you know how it is at these things Lex, a bunch of jocks fool around and get drunk, it kinda takes the fun out of it for everyone else" 

Lex raised an eyebrow "So you're not going because of a bunch of jocks?" he looked amused at this, and Lana could sense he knew there was another reason that she hadn't gone. Oh god, she suddenly thought, what if he knows, what if he realises the reason that I'm not there is because I wanted to go with him. But how could he know, I've never given him any indication, no matter how much I've wanted to that we could be more than just friends. He's just being curious, its how Lex is, he's concerned about why I haven't gone, probably why I haven't mentioned it to him, that's all, he's just looking out for a friend. 

"Yeah well, that and I don't have a date." she told him, smiling wryly.

"Lana Lang, dateless, what is wrong with this town these days?" he asked her "I can't believe not one guy at that little school of yours hasn't got their head screwed on enough to want to go with someone as beautiful as you" 

_Oh my God, _she was screaming inwardly to herself, _Lex called me beautiful, Lex called me beautiful! _Resisting the urge to grin inanely, she simply told him "Well I did get a couple of offers, but you know…" she trailed off, a spark of impulsiveness in her suddenly urged her to tell him the truth, to tell him that the reason she hadn't gone was that the thought of dancing with anybody but him was unbearable. But did she dare? Could she risk ruining the friendship she'd built with him, for her inward desires? She glanced around the Talon quickly, the two old ladies had left, her and Lex remained the only two people in there. She smiled inwardly to herself, if she was going to humiliate herself, now was as good a time as any; at least there was nobody else around to laugh at her inevitable humiliation.

She looked up at Lex, his eyes were still boring into her, and he took a step closer, they were now standing barely a foot apart "but why Lana? Why didn't you go?" he asked, his voice almost a whisper, and Lana took a deep breath. It was now or never she thought, and something about the way his eyes were penetrating deep into her, never faltering, never moving, gave her a little bit of hope, maybe there was a chance, however slight, that he wouldn't be shocked, appalled, or horrified, maybe, just maybe he would feel the same way.

"Maybe I didn't want to settle for second best Lex. " he raised his eyebrow again, as if urging her to continue "Maybe, if I'm going to dance, I want it to be with the one person who knows the real me, the one person who makes me feel alive" Lana stared straight back at Lex, whose gaze was still on her, she refused to look away despite the fact that she was shaking all over, wondering if he'd understood the subtext of what she's said, wondering if he knew she was talking about him, that she wanted to be with him.

In response, Lex turned away from her, and silently walked off. Lana could feel her heart breaking into a thousand pieces and she turned away, unable to watch the sight of him retreating. Suddenly though, she heard the first notes of a song drift towards her, and she turned round again to see Lex standing at the jukebox, facing her. "Lana Lang, would you like to dance?" she nodded silently at him, unable to speak for fear of what she might say, and slowly, he walked towards her, that half smile on his face. 

 He gently put his hands on her hips, and Lana gasped slightly, warmth rippling through her instantly at his touch. Unsure at first of where to put her hands, she finally decided to wrap them lightly round his neck, bringing her in closer to him than ever before. She rested her head on his shoulder as they swayed gently to the music, "Truly, Madly, Deeply" Lana had managed to note it as being before she lost herself in the intoxication that was Lex Luthor. Everything about him was even more breathtaking than she'd imagined. She could feel the rippling muscles of his chest pressed against the soft, silky shirt he was wearing, his hands were on her hips and they felt so gentle, yet were at the same time, so strong, so powerful, so safe; and his scent, a cross between cologne and wine, filled her every sense with desire. She was so contented here in his arms, yet at the same time so scared. The song would end any moment, what would happen when it was over? Would he walk away, act as though it had never happened, would she be forced into trying to figure out if this had been real or just a fleeting fantasy? As if sensing her thoughts she felt Lex gently kissing her hair, reassuring her somehow, making her feel safe. 

She held onto him tighter, not wanting to let go, not wanting the song to end, but knowing, deep down, that it would, that soon it would be over. As the last few notes of the song gently faded away she clung onto Lex, her head buried deep in his shoulder, too scared to look up, too scared of what this might bring.

"Lana…" he whispered to her, breaking her thoughts "Lana…" 

She took a deep breath, savouring every part of him as she unwrapped her arms from round him and slowly looked up. Lex gazed straight into her eyes, and Lana desperately tried to read the expression in them, as he moved his hands from off her hips and instead gently took her hands, placing them in his. He smiled at her as they intertwined their fingers, and in that instant Lana stopped being scared. 

"Thank you for the dance" she whispered in his ear, her lips almost touching him as she spoke, and slowly she moved her lips away from his ear, towards his mouth. She glanced up at him, and noticed that for the first time that night; his eyes were not staring into hers, but were slowly closing, his mouth moving slowly towards hers. Lana shut her eyes as she felt their lips meet, it was soft, so soft at first, as though he was scared he might break her, then as their mouths parted and she felt his tongue gently slipping inside her it became firmer, more passionate, yet still incredibly gentle. She let go of his hands and wrapped her arms round his neck again, pulling him close to her, and he responded by running his arms lightly up and down her back, exploring her, savouring her. She couldn't explain the feeling she had inside of her, she felt as though every part of her had come alive, that with every kiss she was falling deeper, and deeper into him, that she had found her place in the world. She belonged here, in this moment, wrapped in the magic that was Lex Luthor.


	4. letting it out

Authors note: Firstly, thank you all so much for the feedback! I've decided to go along with my original idea which was to tell the story from Lex's POV now, basically just retelling the events so far, but as Lex saw them. Then, when I've finished that, if I feel like its going somewhere, I'll try and continue the story, write about what happens after the kiss. That's the plan for now anyway, although I'll probably change my mind half way through! Anyway, thanks again for the feedback!

Chapter 4 (Lex's POV)

When had he first fallen for Lana Lang? If anybody had ever asked him that question; and assuming he'd undergone a major personality transplant that had left him freely open to discussing his feelings, actually admitting he had feelings; then he would have been able to say, without a doubt, from the very first time he'd laid eyes on her.

It wasn't her beauty that had done it, although there was no denying she was phenomenally beautiful, surreally so in fact. It was something else, it was as though there was some kind of aura surrounding her; she seemed so pure, so innocent, so naïve, she seemed to be everything that he wasn't.  Everything that he could never be. He'd known since this moment that he wanted her, wanted her more than he'd wanted anyone or anything before, it was as though there was some other-worldly force acting upon him, pulling him towards her. Yet, at the same time, he knew that he could never have her, she was never going to be his.  He didn't mean this in the physical sense; after all, he was Lex Luthor – he knew how to turn on the charm, how to make any woman become putty in his hands – and he was pretty positive that with the right words, the right actions, and Lana would be no different. No, when he said he couldn't have her, he meant that he couldn't do than to her, she deserved better than him. He would only bring darkness and evil into the pure world that was that of Lana Lang. He would taint her spirit, and inevitably tear out her heart, leaving only a broken shell.  Maybe this was why he pushed her so hard towards Clark. Clark was the epitome of what Lana deserved, of what she should have. Good-looking, kind, selfless, everything that Lex wasn't, everything that would make Lana happy, and when it came down to it, that was all Lex wanted to do – make Lana happy.  

                                                …………………………

That night when he'd stormed into the Talon, he had been so angry with his father, so completely furious, that not even the sight of Lana could help to subdue it.  As he'd sat there the image of his Father and what he'd said to him kept running through his mind "Your Mother belongs in the past Lex, I'm doing this for our future"; and the cold, heartless expression that rested on his face as he'd said it replayed over and over in his head like a broken videotape until he'd felt like screaming.

When she'd come over and sat next to him at precisely the moment he'd wanted to scream, he hadn't known what to do. That was a first for him, he always knew what to do, always had a plan ready, always thought out every possibility. Thinking about his Dad though, and all the memories of his Mother that their argument had brought up, had left him in no fit state to deal with Lana sitting next to him. In fact, he noted wryly, sitting _very_ close to him, so close they were almost touching, so close that he could hear every breath she took. In ordinary circumstances he would have relished this closeness. Tonight however, the clouding of his mind that her closeness left in him didn't help with the onset of emotions he was trying so hard to avoid. There was something about her, the way she was so selfless and caring, and seemed so genuinely concerned for him, that made Lex find himself fighting the urge to tell her everything that was inside of him. He'd never felt like this before, years of training from his Father had taught him to keep everything inside, keep it buried so deep that not even your eyes gave the slightest glimpse of what lay beneath. Revealing your feelings was a weakness, something that your enemy could prey upon, yet then again, Lana wasn't an enemy, she wanted to help him, not work against him, and it was with this thought, before he could stop himself, that Lex suddenly found himself speaking. "My Mother died on this day, I was just a boy, but I remember it like it was yesterday".  _What was he doing?_ he asked himself frantically, he never spoke about his Mom, not to her, not to anyone, not ever. Yet the way she gently took his hand, and squeezed it reassuringly, made him want to carry on. To let out everything that had been buried deep inside him for years, things that he had never told anyone, yet things that he instinctively knew she would understand. Words came pouring out almost quicker than he thought them, and once he'd started he couldn't stop. He told her things that he hadn't even admitted to himself – how much he missed his Mom, how he was scared that without her to guide him he was going to turn into his Father, how his hatred for his Father sometimes threatened to engulf him. And finally, he'd told her what his Father had said to him today. 

A silence surrounded them after he said this, and for a brief instant Lex felt something he'd never felt before, panic. He suddenly panicked that he'd told her too much, that she hadn't really wanted to know what was wrong with him, she was just a nice person, that offering to listen was something that nice people felt obligated to do. He was just about to apologise to her (something Lex certainly never did), when suddenly she took him in her arms and gently held him. He'd stiffened at first, not used to genuine human contact, not used to someone wanting to hold him, wanting to make him feel better, but slowly he felt his fears ease out of him as he sunk into her arms. His anger at his Father slowly disappeared and for the first time in a long time he felt safe, he felt as though he belonged. He belonged here, in the arms of Lana Lang.


	5. waiting for a sign

Authors note: thank you for everyone who has given me feedback so far, I really, really appreciate it! Please let me know what you think of this chapter!

Chapter 5

That night he hadn't been able to sleep. For hours he lay in bed tossing and turning, cursing to himself as he heard the clock ticking slowly. Every time he shut his eyes he was there again…he was in her arms…she was holding him, telling him everything was going to be okay. Frustrated he got out of bed and began pacing his room. This was wrong, he told himself. He had to stop thinking about her. He was wrong for her. She was wrong for him. He was a Luthor – he wasn't supposed to fall for sweet sixteen year olds, he wasn't supposed to fall for anybody. Besides, what would Lana want with somebody like him? She wasn't a socialite, or a shrewd businesswoman; she didn't care about money, and for all his outside arrogance and confidence, inside Lex didn't believe that anybody could ever want him for anything but that. If they weren't interested in his money, then they wouldn't be interested in him; there wasn't anything else that he had to offer, was there?

Despite his feelings that Lana was never going to want him in the way that he wanted her, after that night, Lex couldn't help himself from being drawn to the Talon. No matter how busy his day was, or how much work he had to do, he always made time to pop in. He would mostly sit and listen to Lana talking as she closed up, watching how her face lit up as she got excited, watching how her eyes sparkled as she laughed, and noticing how they clouded over when she thought of her parents. He recognised that look she would get in her eyes, a kind of pain and longing. It was the same feeling he got in his stomach every time his Mom was mentioned, and seeing that same look in Lana's eyes was the biggest test to his constraint he ever faced. He recognised that pain in her eyes, and it was all he could do at times to stop himself from sweeping her into his arms and letting her know that she didn't need to be upset, that he was going to look after her. 

He found himself opening up to Lana in a way that he never had with anyone before. When he was near her he could relax, he no longer had to put up a front, and for the first time he felt like he was able to be the real him. He smiled to himself sometimes at the thought of what his Father would have said if he had seen them together. He didn't think his Father had ever seen Lex laughing, he would have been shocked, appalled to the core that his son could have such human emotions.  

As time went on, he found himself thinking about Lana constantly, at first he tried to stop himself, telling himself that he should concentrate on the fact that they were friends and to stop hoping there could ever be anything else, but then he would see her, and he realised that it was impossible for him to ever only want her as a friend.  He would ask himself sometimes why he was still holding back. Why didn't he just tell Lana how he felt? Or as was more often the Luthor way, why didn't he just show her how he felt. Yet there was something inside of him that was still holding him back. It was a feeling that he got in his stomach every time he thought of telling her, something he had felt only once in his life before, right when he found out his Mother was going to die. Fear. It was no longer simply the fear that he would taint Lana; that she deserved better than him, but he was terrified of how she might react. He had built up one of the first real friendships that he had ever had with Lana, and the thought of losing this scared him more than anything. It was kind of ironic, he thought to himself. How he could be so cocky and sure of himself when it came to business, or to women like Victoria, yet the thought of telling a sixteen year old girl hat he had fallen for her, scared the life out of him.

All he needed was a sign, he told himself. A sign that Lana felt the same way about him. One night he thought that maybe he had it. It was November 17th (he had a funny way of remembering all the little details where Lana was concerned), and work had been chaotic. He was furious by the time that he finally managed to leave the plant, it was half an hour past the Talon's closing time, someone's stupid blunder was probably gonna cost him the chance of seeing Lana that night. There was no way she would still be there at that time.

Still, despite his feelings that he had probably missed her, he found himself pressing furiously down on the accelerator and speeding towards the Talon. As he pulled up outside he felt his heart sink as he looked up at it, the lights were out, the place was dark, he'd missed her.  "Damnit!" he had shouted out loud, before putting his foot down hard on the pedal and speeding off again. 

He had barely gone a hundred yards, when he spotted her. Her dark hair was blowing furiously about her in the wind, and she was looking down, dragging her feet along the floor as she walked. He'd slowed to a stop beside her, winding down the window nearest to her.  "Need a lift?" he'd asked as she turned to face him, getting no answer from Lana in reply, just a look of shock on her face as she stared at him open mouthed. "Lana… are you okay?" he'd asked her "you look like you've seen a ghost" Lana had simply nodded her head, and got into the car, that shocked look still on her face. They drove home in silence, Lana seemed to be in a world of her own and Lex didn't know what to say to her.  As they pulled up outside her house he'd asked her again if she was okay, the shocked look was gone from her face now, and she'd looked up at him gazing intently into his eyes. "I guess I just realised something Lex, that's all, something I hadn't realised before" She continued gazing into his eyes as she said this, as though she was searching for something in them, and Lex suddenly felt his heart jolt. Was she trying to tell him something? Was this the sign he had been waiting for? 

Slowly he'd started to lean his head towards hers, when suddenly she broke their eye contact. Looking down at her hands, and blushing furiously she practically leapt out of the car "Thanks for the ride" she'd said as she turned away, rushing into her house without so much of a backward glance behind her. 

Lex remained motionless, confused. What had just happened? He could have sworn there had been something in Lana's eyes just that hadn't been there before. He could have sworn that it was the sign he'd been waiting for. But then why had she practically ran off from him, it wasn't exactly the type of behaviour normally associated with girls when there were near someone they liked. He sighed inwardly to himself as he drove off. Face it Lex, you were wrong, Lana doesn't like you like that, she never will like you like that, the sign you've been waiting for, it's not going to come….is it?


End file.
